


Another Day, Another Timeline

by AngeliaDark



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AU Timeline, Angst, Pacifist Frisk, Protective Papyrus, in which a precious cinnamon roll gets burnt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-14 12:26:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5743816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngeliaDark/pseuds/AngeliaDark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A timeline where Papyrus found Frisk first, and decides to personally escort them to Asgore.  Unfortunately, he grows attached to Frisk, and sees firsthand what exactly it takes to gain a human soul...and it's nothing he'll stand for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another Day, Another Timeline

_Today was it!_

_The day he would FINALLY capture a human!_

Although the day started out just like any other given day in Snowdin—wake up, take a shower, make his bed, tidy his room, put on clothes, eat leftover spaghetti from the fridge, reply to the post-it stash on the sock in the living room, literally drag Sans out the door and to his sentry station—Papyrus just KNEW that today was the day. He could FEEL it! ( _"-In your bones, bro?" Sans had snickered, earning him a snowball lodged in his eyesocket. SO worth it._ )

Around lunchtime, Papyrus made his way to Sans's station, grinding his teeth when he saw that, as usual, Sans was gone, probably to Grillby's, the lazybones. Honestly, he'd been covering for him from Undyne long enough. Maybe a kick in the coccyx was just what Sans needed to take his work seriously!

Papyrus was about to leave when he saw movement over by the bridge he'd built that led to the locked door of the Ruins. Behind one of the thick pillars was a small form peeking out at him, almost in curiosity. Curiosity piqued himself, Papyrus quietly stepped over and peeked around the pillar, almost jumping right out of his clothes when he heard a soft sneeze much lower to the ground than he was. He looked down and saw a small thing looking back up at him with two-parts amazement and one-part fear.

It wasn't like any Monster he'd encountered before. In fact, it resembled something in one of those human comic books Undyne had in her house—

—oh good lord, it was a human.

Papyrus jumped back, looking around at the forest like it would suddenly come to life and tell him what exactly to do now. Really, in-between going to work to catch a human and getting the praise and recognition in capturing one, the middle part of WHAT TO DO RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT IN THE PROCESS OF CAPTURING ONE had admittedly never crossed his mind. He REALLY had to work on that.

But now, he took note of the situation. Only the Ruins door was behind the human, and he was blocking the way in front. By all intents and purposes, the human was captured. CAPTURED!

"NYEH HEH HEH!" he laughed, feeling giddier than training days with Undyne. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE CAPTURED YOU, HUMAN! There is no escaping me now! I will have you delivered right to King Asgore, and then I will have ALL the praise! ALL the recognition! ALL THE—"

He was cut off when the small human walked over and tugged on the end of his scarf. Well. That was rude, cutting him off like that. "...er...what is it, human?" he asked. The human just smiled a little and told him that they WANTED to go to King Asgore's castle, and could they point the way?

"Oh! Well, certainly! You see, you just need to go..." Papyrus trailed off, taking a note of the situation. The small human looked FAR too small and frail to make it ALL the way across the Underground. In fact, he could see the small one shivering in the cold like some of the visitors to Snowdin who weren't used to the weather here. They had nothing but a small stick in their hand as a means to protect themselves—though truthfully, Undyne might keel over laughing if someone tried to take her on with a twig—and the journey itself was quite taxing, even for him.

GASP. I-D-E-A.

"FEAR NOT, HUMAN!" he exclaimed, ignoring the squeak of surprise from the human. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL ESCORT YOU TO KING ASGORE MYSELF!" He beamed down at the small human, feeling a warmth in his chest when the human smiled back. And then sneezed. "Oh honestly, you're just like Sans..." he sighed, taking off his scarf and wrapping it around them. "Not dressed for the environment! Did you know he wears that big snow coat to the Hotlands? Insanity!" He looked down, seeing that they weren't even wearing any proper snow shoes. And he was PRETTY sure their feet weren't suited for the snow either.

He sighed, bending down and picking the human up, finding them surprisingly lightweight. "Well, let us go, human!" he said, heading off toward Snowdin. The human curled his scarf around them tighter, tugging it over their head and around their face to better mask against the cold. Papyrus tucked them closer to him, debating if he should snag one of the spare coats in the closet for them, but decided against it. They would be out of Snowdin soon enough, and Waterfall was much warmer.

He got odd glances from the townspeople as he trekked through, and was suddenly glad the human had his scarf around their face. It wouldn't do well to cause a riot because of a human in the town, would it? As he walked, he did some discrete looking around for Sans, and, to his NOT surprise, found nothing. It occurred to him that Sans could have fallen asleep underneath his station where Papyrus couldn't see, and he let out a sudden, non-contextual groan, earning a questioning look from the human.

"It's nothing," he assured them, sighing. "Just a horrible lack of foresight. I can deal with it later."

This seemed to pacify the human's curiosity, but they then turned to questioning most everything else around them with interest. Papyrus beamed, more than happy to fill the human in on Monster culture, even if the answer to many things was either 'science' or 'magic'.

Eventually, though, he had to admit not knowing to some questions, and instead turned the line of questioning back to them. The human was a wealth of mundane knowledge, and excitedly told him that there were skeletons in every person! Papyrus speculated that humans must then logically be descended from skeletons. It only made sense.

The human then told him about human time measurements, and Papyrus was delighted to find out that their days, weeks, months, and even years were very closely resembling that down here. He asked them how old they were, and almost pitched forward when he stopped short, when the human told him that they were nine years old.

Nine. NINE years old.

He held the human out at arm's length, almost not comprehending what he just learned. He had just assumed the human was small like Sans, not...not a BABY BONES! He should have guessed when he saw them wearing a striped shirt. CHILDREN wore striped shirts!

This human was a child, and inside this child was a skeleton. Ergo in facto, this was a baby bones he was holding in his arms. A hot welling sensation spread through his soul, a massive protective instinct rising and spreading through his bones and filling him with D E T E R M I N A T I O N. He had to protect this child, all the way to King Asgore's castle, so they could pass through the barrier and get back to their home safely.

The child seemed confused at his sudden change in demeanor, but he didn't care. He held them close to him, a fiery spark in his eye. "Do not worry, little bones," he exclaimed, heading on down the path. "I, the Great Papyrus, will see to it that you make it safely to the barrier, no matter what!"

They seemed to accept his heroic proclamation, and beamed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Papyrus blushed, picking up the pace.

"Child, please, as desirable as the Great Papyrus is, I am much too old for you! You are just a baby bones, so please, rein in your flirtatious advances!" Oh, and now the child had the audacity to LAUGH. "I am serious! Cease your flirtations, human!"

They told him their name was Frisk.

"Oh, very well...Frisk. But just because we are on a first-name basis does not mean anything else will happen!"

Frisk seemed fine with that.

* * *

The walk through Waterfall went ALMOST without a hitch—and then Undyne showed up.

Papyrus had stopped at a food stand and bought the two of them some lunch, as the human—Frisk—seemed to be getting hungry. The two were sitting on the ground chatting, and it wasn't until Papyrus heard the heavy footfalls of Undyne's armor behind them that he was aware that she was even in the vicinity. He jumped up, hands behind his back like a kid that caught doing something they weren't, his spine straightening.

Undyne may be his friend, but when she wore her armor, she was Captain of the Royal Guard first and foremost.

"...h...hello, Undyne...Sir..." he stammered, very much glad the child was done eating and had put his scarf back around their face, but then wincing when he said 'Sir'. He only called Undyne 'Sir' when something was wrong. "Er...sorry I'm late with my reports..."

He saw Undyne's eye shift from him to the child behind him, feeling a slow crawl up his spine. "...Papyrus," she said lowly, her voice echoing in her helmet. "...what is that behind you?"

 _'Oh DANG, she knows!'_ he shouted in his head, but forced himself to look casual. "Just..a child, Undyne," he said, reining in from using 'Sir' again. "I was just escorting them to the Capitol."

"...All the way from Snowdin," Undyne finished, her voice flat.

"...Yes." It wasn't a lie.

Undyne's eye flickered to Frisk again. "...I was just on my way there, actually," she said. "I can take them myself." Behind him, Papyrus heard the child shift back, and felt his hands clench slightly.

"Really, it's no bother," he said, his voice a little firmer. "I'll take them."

"Papyrus. I INSIST." Undyne took a step around him, and without even thinking about what he was doing, Papyrus threw out his hands and pushed her back, making her stumble slightly from the unexpected action.

Papyrus stared at what he'd done, getting a chill in his bones, then hurriedly turned and scooped the child up, holding them to him. "I'm taking the child myself, Undyne," he said, with only the barest waver to his voice. "No tricks or anything, I'm just...I'm escorting them right there. And I'll do it myself."

Undyne straightened up, her eye narrowing behind her helmet and her hands flexing slightly, palms glowing slightly in preparation to use magic. In his arms, Papyrus felt the child curl up and whimper, and that spark of protective instinct surged from his soul again.

He held out one hand, a glint flashing in his eye as he summoned a sharpened bone into it, pointing it at Undyne. His weapon didn't waver, even when she took a step back. "I am taking them to the Capitol myself, Undyne," he repeated slowly, this time no stammer in his voice. "Do not try to stop me."

Nothing but the sound of falling water echoed through the cavern for what seemed like forever. Finally, Undyne unclenched her hands, stepping back again.

"It's only because I know you wouldn't do something stupid, that I'm even letting you point a weapon at me pass," she said, her voice tight. Her eye honed in on Frisk and narrowed. "...But if I see ONE toe out of line, ONE injured Monster while they're here—"

"I've got it handled," Papyrus said, keeping the bone in his hand as he edged his way around Undyne. "They're not dangerous, Undyne. They're just a baby bones, and as a grown bones, I'm taking responsibility. And so I'll be going now. To the Capitol." His nerve began wavering. "Er...bye." He dispelled the bone in his hand and took off sprinting down the path, more than grateful that at least in SPEED he had Undyne beat any day.

He didn't stop until he was 100% sure Undyne wasn't following him, looking around quietly before settling back, feeling his enthusiasm meter drain just a little from that surge of nerve in standing up to Undyne. He looked down at Frisk, relieved to see that they weren't in distress, simply looking nervous and worn out. Much like himself.

"It's alright, small bones," he said, sitting down for a quick breather. "You're going to be alright. I, the Great Papyrus, will protect you."

Frisk gave him a watery smile, reaching up and hugging around his neck tightly. Papyrus blinked, slowly petting the child's back. "There, there," he said. "What did we discuss about romantic gestures?"

The child giggled, assuring that this was a hug from the 'friend zone', then leaned back, rearranging the scarf to cover their face again. Papyrus stood back up, heading off down the path again.

"Never you fear, Frisk! We'll get you back home safe and sound. Let's get going now."

* * *

The rest of the journey was without further incident, with Papyrus taking a break at an inn to let the child sleep undisturbed. He was admittedly tired himself, but it was difficult getting some sleep without his bedtime story. Still, he managed to doze off a couple of times, getting just enough of what he needed by the time Frisk woke up.

"It's just a little bit further," he told them, letting them walk and leading them by the hand while pointing to the castle ahead with the other. "Are you excited?" He frowned a little when the child shrugged instead of say anything. "...what's the matter, small bones?"

Frisk held his hand tighter, nestling their face into his scarf. They mumbled something incomprehensible, and Papyrus paused, kneeling down closer. "What is it, Frisk? Are you nervous?" He smiled. "Don't be! The king is a very kind, wonderful person! We'll go in, ask him to escort you to the barrier, and you can go...you can go home..." He felt himself choke up slightly, feeling a tug at his soul at the idea of parting with the baby bones. "...that's what you want, isn't it?"

The child seemed to hesitate before nodding, and Papyrus bit back a sigh as he stood back up. "Then let's be going now," he said, taking their hand again and leading them off for the castle.

Frisk was quiet the walk there, and Papyrus felt oddly untalkative himself. The numb tug of having to part with the child was still aching, and he wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. So he remained silent as he walked through the courtyard which was open to anyone wishing an audience with King Asgore, and into a wide, beautiful hall with pillars and stained glass windows that streamed in light and smelled of flowers.

Next to him, Frisk held his hand tighter and made the barest whisper of a whimper into his scarf. He too felt a little nervous being here, but panic seemed to be rolling off the child in waves he could FEEL. Without a word, he reached down and picked them up, holding them tightly.

"Shhh," he murmured softly, petting their head. "It's alright. It's okay." He didn't know if he was talking to Frisk or himself, but either way, the child settled somewhat, and he walked the length of the hall and through a doorway, looking around.

Several other stone halls broke off in different directions; not having been here before, Papyrus didn't have a reference to choose from, so he elected to take one to his right. The hall was oddly quiet and had an unusual heavy air to it that put his teeth on edge for some reason. It led down to an opening that he walked through...and paused.

In the room were seven small oddly-shaped boxes with different-colored tags over the lids. They looked harmless enough, but the sight of them...

….it wasn't RIGHT.

"What IS this...?" he murmured to himself, putting Frisk down and walking over to the box with the red tag and lifting the lid, finding it empty. While a small part of him was telling him that he shouldn't be messing with things in the king's castle, a larger, more insistent part pushed him to moving to the next one over, which had an orange tag on the top, and putting his hand on it before creaking it open.

It took several long moments for him to comprehend was he was looking at. In the box was...a human...just a little bigger than Frisk, but not by much...but what struck him was the three large holes on their abdomen, and the dark red stains splattered on their clothing.

He took a moment to remember Frisk telling him that humans had 'blood' in their bodies, and that if they lost too much of it, they died. The copious stains on the clothing and the placement of the holes told him that this was a fatal state. This wasn't just a CHILD in this box...this was a DEAD child!

HE WAS LOOKING AT A DEAD CHILD.

Almost on autopilot, he pulled the lids off of the other boxes, finding the bodies of several other humans, a couple looking older than Frisk but the others around Frisk's age, all in various states of ruin. The child in the box with the yellow tag had most of his face missing, and Papyrus never thought he would be horrified to see another skull in his life.

He stumbled back from the horror, feeling a vibration of fear and panic in his soul as he looked at the red-tagged box that was empty, a terrible realization settling in. Turning to Frisk, he summoned just enough magic to look into their soul.

Frisk's soul was the same red as the one on the tag.

Is THIS what his job detailed?! Finding humans—children—BABY BONES!—and giving them over to...to end up like THIS!? Is THIS how human souls were collected!? Having their bodies damaged and torn to shreds!?

Was...this what was going to happen to Frisk...?

The Frisk in question tugged on his hand, worried over his horrified silence, and he quickly scooped them up, pressing their face into his shoulder so they wouldn't look at the bodies and hurried out of that hell room, trying to pick up the pace with his shaking legs.

He had to get out of here. He had to get Frisk to safety; if not to the barrier, then to Snowdin, where he could keep them safe! He could make it work—he WOULD make it work! He exited the stone hallway and entered the hall filled with pillars and windows, skidding to a halt when he saw a large figure at the other end.

King Asgore stood at the exit on the other side of the hall, having sworn he heard someone come in this way. Thinking that they perhaps had already left, he was about to go make himself some tea when he heard quick footfalls heading from the other hall, and saw a tall skeleton carrying a small bundle in his arms run in and halt when he saw him.

Vaguely, he recognized the skeleton by descriptions told to him by Undyne. She often spoke of 'Papyrus', whom she said had a TON of potential to be in the Royal Guard, but was currently far too innocent to get his hands dirty with less savory things that sometimes needed to be done. Still, as many times as Undyne spoke about him, Asgore was interested in meeting the fellow sometime.

This, however, was most unexpected. He was about to greet the skeleton and ask him to stay for tea, but then he picked up on the suffocating tension in the hall, and his greeting died halfway up his throat.

Across the hall, Papyrus was staring at him in a mix of apprehension and horror, clutching the small bundle closer to his chest. Upon closer look, the scarf that was around the small form's face had slipped away, showing the human child's face. Papyrus noticed Asgore's staring, and took a step back, feeling a spike of protective instinct.

"...You have a human," Asgore remarked quietly before frowning at an odd sound. Was the skeleton GROWLING at him?

Frisk buried their face into Papyrus's shoulder, feeling his bones rattle with the growling sound he was making. Papyrus took another step back, feeling an odd itching sparkling feeling in his right eye.

"You can't have them," he growled, feeling tears of hurt, frustration, anger, and betrayal well up in his eyesockets. He let out a louder growl when Asgore took a step forward. "I wont...let them be like the others! DO YOU HEAR ME!?"

Even he jerked at the volume and tone of his own voice that echoed through the hall. A part of him was horrified at himself that he was shouting at the KING, but the memory of those small bodies—those baby bones—being dead and damaged fueled his anger, made his soul feel hot in his chest. All that mattered was getting Frisk to safety, wherever that may be.

He didn't know where the barrier was, and Asgore was blocking the only known exit out. That left him with several unpleasant options, none anything he wanted to do. "...We're leaving," he announced, straightening his spine, feeling at least a little confident that if need be, he could outrun Asgore. At very least, he would be able to fit in smaller spaces. "I'm...not letting you kill this human...I...I don't CARE if their soul is needed!"

Asgore helplessly reached out, feeling a cold pain in his chest, realizing that based on where Papyrus came from, he had seen the coffin room. The LAST thing he wanted was for someone to see those children, and now someone HAD. "Listen...Papyrus, is it?...just let me explain—"

"EXPLAIN!?" Papyrus's voice hit an almost deafening pitch. The crackling spark in his eye grew more intense. "There IS no explanation for this! They...those...those were CHILDREN! Some were BABY BONES!" His arms tightened around Frisk, feeling more tears pour down his face. "Their...their BODIES were...and you... _you_...!"

The burning in his soul paired with the unbearable fizzling of his eye began to overwhelm him, his vision going hyper-sharp and tinted orange. He felt the intense desire to HURT. OVERPOWER. DESTROY the beast that would harm a baby bones!

Papyrus shifted Frisk to one hand, holding out his other and curling his fingers hard, willing his burning magic into summoning his attacks.

_**"YOU DIRTY CHILD KILLER!"** _

He threw out his arm, huge sharp bone spikes jutting up from the floor around Asgore. Asgore leaped out of the way, summoning his weapon on reflex, his honing in on Papyrus's soul stats. His eyes widened when he saw the stats steadily rising, an accompanying thrum of magic rising with it. A blazing orange light was coming from the skeleton's right eyesocket, the magical intent honed right on him.

Papyrus raised his hand above his head, clenching his fingers again and sharp bones appeared above Asgore, and shot down at the king when he threw his hand downward. Asgore swung his trident to shatter or knock them away, ducking and diving to avoid the rest, backing up and holding his trident at the ready.

"STOP THIS!" he shouted over to the skeleton, bracing himself for another attack. "I DO NOT WISH TO FIGHT YOU!" He swung his weapon, knocking away several bones that flew at him in succession. Seeing Papyrus's stats raise again started making him desperate. "LISTEN TO ME!" His hands clenched into his weapon. "...I wont kill the child. I'll let you leave, both of you! Just STOP this!"

Papyrus's eye flared, his fingers twitching hard. "Stop?" he repeated softly, his voice cracking slightly. "YOU...want ME to stop...? WHAT'S STOPPING YOU!?" He summoned up another set of bone spikes from the floor. "WHAT'S STOPPING YOU FROM KILLING _ANOTHER_ BABY BONES!?" He lobbed another set of bones at Asgore. "I WILL STOP _YOU_! YOU WILL NEVER KILL ANOTHER BABY BONES EVER AGAIN!"

The world went white around him before his vision seemed to take on two different angles honing in on Asgore; one from where he stood and one from above. His soul magic felt like it was being stretched taut like the string of a bow, ready and waiting for his command to let it fly.

Asgore's eyes widened, his hands shaking violently as a surge of magical energy echoed around the room, and an enormous beastlike skull appeared above Papyrus's head, its right eyesocket glowing with the same light as the skeleton below it. The beast seemed to stare him right in the eye as its jaws opened, a buildup of magical energy glowing back in its maw.

It felt as though the entire hall itself was inhaling and readying itself for a scream, and not one Asgore wanted to experience. In his last ditch effort to end this, he threw down his weapon and held his hands out, showing he was unarmed.

"PLEASE! ENOUGH! IT'S OVER!"

Papyrus felt as though the proverbial 'bow' of his soul was stretched tightly enough, and it was almost hurting to keep it held back. The fire in his eye was burning almost unbearably, and the child shaking against him let him know that it WAS enough.

"...It is."

The soul string was cut.

_**"FOR YOU."** _

The jaws of the skull beast opened wide and a deafening blast sounded off accompanied by a blinding flash of light, the air crackling with magic as the blast of magic beelined right for Asgore and struck its mark.

And then there was silence.

Papyrus felt as though his surge of magic had been cut off, his legs almost collapsing under him as a sudden fatigue weighed on him. He stumbled and fell to a knee, holding Frisk to him with both arms as the fire in his eye fizzled out, the burning sensation in his soul simmering down.

Frisk was crying into his shoulder, clinging to him for dear life. He reached up and petted their head with a shaking hand, trying to make his vision cease swimming in front of him. "...it's...alright, small bones..." he stammered, wincing as he dropped to his other knee, feeling better sitting than kneeling. "It's okay...it's...i...it's..."

His voice trailed off as his vision went back to normal and the smoke cleared, showing a massive war zone before him. The pillars, the floor, the walls...all of the glass windows on that side of the hall were shattered.

In the middle of it all was a cape and a crown, both covered with dust.

Any strength he had left in his body vanished as he stared at the remains of the king, the dawning realization that HE was the cause settling heavily on his shoulders. He shook so hard his bones rattled, raising a trembling hand to his mouth.

"...w...what...have...I done...?" he whimpered, tears running down his face. "WHAT HAVE I DONE!?"

He covered his head with his hands, the weight of the sins crawling on his back bending him double, making him feel like he was going to be violently ill. He let out agonized cries into the floor, the fire in his soul turning to dirty, heavy lead. He'd killed the king. HE had killed the KING! HOW COULD HE HAVE DONE THAT?! WHAT KIND OF BEAST WAS HE!?

As Papyrus sobbed into the floor, Frisk sniffled into the scarf, tears of their own wetting their face. They were terrified for themselves and for Papyrus, who looked so frail and broken after being so brave and strong just a little while ago. They scooted over and buried their face into his shoulder, giving him a hug they both so desperately needed.

The sound of familiar heavy footfalls made them look up in time to see Undyne walk into the hall, her helmet off to show her stricken expression, incredulous at the damage done. Her eye honed in on the dust-covered crown and cape, her helmet dropping from her hands.

"A...Asgore..." she murmured, shaking her head in denial. "No...NO!" She rushed into the shallow crater, picking up the cape as though to find him hidden under it, letting out a choked cry when she found only more dust. "ASORE! _ASGORE_!"

She buried her face into his cape, her body shaking with despair and rage. "Who...did this to you...?!" she hissed, jerking her head around to look for an assailant. "WHO DID THIS TO YOU—" She broke off when she saw Papyrus at the other end of the hall, curled up on the floor while a smaller figure sat next to him, the faux disguise of a scarf dropped away, showing an unveiled human face.

Human.

HUMAN.

_HUMAN._

"YOU DID THIS!" Undyne shrieked, leaping to her feet and summoning a spear to her hand. "YOU GODDAMN HUMAN! YOU KILLED HIM!" She broke into a sprint, drawing her spear back. "BURN IN HELL, YOU DEMON!"

Frisk screamed, hunkering down and shielding their face with their arms, clenching their eyes shut as they braced for the blow. Papyrus snapped out of his grief when he heard the baby bones screaming in fear, throwing out his hand on reflex, a sharp bone jutting up from the floor and into Frisk's assailant, all a split second before he realized who he was attacking.

Undyne only felt the force of the blow of the bone impaling her body at first, and then the pain began setting in. The shock to her nerves locked her body up tight as she fought to make sense of what just happened. Her vision began wavering, but not enough to blur Papyrus's horrified expression in front of her.

 _'Done in by sweet, innocent Papyrus...'_ she thought numbly, her lips twitching at the bittersweet humored idea. _'Should've let him into the Royal Guard sooner...'_ A jolt of pain wracked her body, her limbs going numb as she dropped her spear to the floor.

"UNDYNE!" Papyrus cried, scrambling up, his hands hovering over her, unsure of what to DO, HOW to UNDO what he had just done. "U...Undyne...! I...I didn't...I..." He stared at the bone he had summoned that was piercing her body. It was far too large for him to safely retract it, let alone be small enough for Undyne to survive the damage done to her body.

There was nothing he could do.

"Undyne...!" He rested his hands on either side of her face, praying he would be able to keep her there, just a little longer. "Undyne...I'm...I'm sorry...I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry...!" His breath hitched when a trickle of dust began falling from her head and onto his gloved hands. "No...NO! UNDYNE, STAY WITH ME! _STAY WITH ME! OH GOD!_ " He threw his arms around her shoulders, sobbing. "UNDYNE, PLEASE! I'M SORRY! DON'T DIE! DON'T—DON'T—!"

He felt her body sag and dust away, leaving behind just her spear and her armor, his body covered in her remains. Deftly, he could see her soul in the chest cavity of the armor flicker and die as it too shattered to pieces.

Papyrus stumbled back, landing on the floor hard, staring at the ruins before him. Ruin that HE caused. Deaths that HE caused. He stared up at the ceiling, his chest burning with agony and regret as he felt his EXP rise against his own will, forever marking his soul with a stain that his tears could never wash away. The fact that his victims were his liege and his best friend only made this so much worse, so much more painful.

After all this, all he could do was sit on the floor like a child...and cry.

* * *

Sans raced to the hall, feeling his soul pounding in his chest. He hadn't seen Papyrus or the human kid for two days now, and he was absolutely dreading the worst. Through his shortcuts, he didn't see dusted Monsters or anything of the sort, but he also didn't see his brother or the kid.

It was still a cold comfort that he hadn't found dust or a lone scarf. That at least meant his brother was alive.

After exhausting his other options, he took a shortcut to the palace hall—and froze.

The hall was in absolute shambles, with broken columns, shattered windows, and dents in the walls and floor. The magical residue was jarring enough, since it reminded him—no, resembled almost EXACTLY—of his own. That could only mean...

He stepped further into the hall silently, his sights honed in on the form of his younger brother on the floor, Papyrus's face buried in his hands and knees drawn up close as though to curl up and hide away from everything. There was a crackling of magical lash-outs with every one of his hitched breaths.

Sans didn't want to, simply because it would confirm the obvious, but his sights brought up Papyrus's soul stats, his own soul lurching when he saw EXP, and the stats fluctuating like they were trying to raise but Papyrus was forcefully reining them back down, trying to change the inevitable.

Next to Papyrus was the human kid, burrowed in Papyrus's scarf and curled up on themself, shaking hard. Just as a precaution, Sans checked their stats too, feeling a weakness in his knees when he found their soul purer than Papyrus's.

Sans slowly stepped across the hall, his movements silent until he was close to the pair. The human peeked up from under the scarf, their face soaked in tears, letting out a sharp gasp of fear when she saw him.

On reflex, Papyrus threw his arm out in front of Frisk to shield them from a non-existent attack, his right eye flaring with a surge of already-unstable magic. The room crackled with static magical tension for a few long moments before Papyrus realized who his killer intent was aimed towards, snapping out of it almost immediately.

"S...Sans...?" The magic in his eyesocket dimmed, but refused to fizzle out as he reached out for his brother. Sans hurried forward and threw his arms around Papyrus, holding him tightly, feeling the barely-repressed magical flares pulsing in his little brother's soul. Papyrus buried his face into Sans's collar, his body shaking so hard his bones rattled. "Sans...ple-ease...!" he choked, sobbing. "It...it HURTS...! Please, brother...! Make it STOP...!"

Sans hugged his brother tighter, feeling tears drip down his face, knowing exactly the agony his brother was experiencing, but also knowing there was nothing he could do to stop it. He looked over Sans's shoulder, seeing Frisk staring at him with a mix of sorrow and...

...determination.

 _'C'mon, kid...'_ Sans thought, patting Papyrus's back comfortingly. _'...throw Papyrus a bone here...don't let him suffer like this...'_

As though hearing his thoughts, Frisk gave a tiny, almost unnoticeable nod, and the world slowly went black as Sans held Papyrus tightly, promising him everything was going to be okay.

* * *

_He wouldn't let this happen again._

_He wouldn't let Papyrus have all the responsibility for the kid._

_He wouldn't let Papyrus's soul suffer like that ever again._

_He would make sure he was at that sentry station, by the gate in the forest, waiting to set things right._

_No matter how many times it took._

**Author's Note:**

> Inserted the personal headcanon that in the game, Papyrus has no idea how old Frisk was. He grew up with a short brother, so he'd naturally assume Frisk was just another short person.
> 
> I'd also like to think that Monsters are very protective of their own, ESPECIALLY children, and that Sans knew what Papyrus was going through because Sans first went through it protecting Papyrus.


End file.
